Private Splendor: Great Families at Home

by Alexis Gregory, Marc Walter (Photographer)

This beautiful volume explores eight European estates that, despite war, taxes, and the passage of time, have remained in the same families for centuries. The photographs are redolent in atmosphere and the text is revealing, due to the author’s long friendships with the owners of these great houses. Offering an inside view of a highly refined way of life, Private Splendor reveals the secrets that kept these homes in private hands. The houses include Seville’s Casa de Pilatos, owned by Spain’s most illustrious grandee; Harewood House in Yorkshire, owned by a cousin of Queen Elizabeth; Germany’s Schloss Regensburg, occupied by the flamboyant Princess Gloria von Thurn and Taxis; and the Palazzo Sachetti near Vatican City, whose enormous Sala dei Mapi is entirely frescoed by Francesco Salviati (1510–1563). This beautiful volume explores eight European estates that, despite war, taxes, and the passage of time, have remained in the same families for centuries. The photographs are redolent in atmosphere and the text is revealing, due to the author’s long friendships with the owners of these great houses. Offering an inside view of a highly refined way of life, Private Splendor reveals the secrets that kept these homes in private hands. The houses include Seville’s Casa de Pilatos, owned by Spain’s most illustrious grandee; Harewood House in Yorkshire, owned by a cousin of Queen Elizabeth; Germany’s Schloss Regensburg, occupied by the flamboyant Princess Gloria von Thurn and Taxis; and the Palazzo Sachetti near Vatican City, whose enormous Sala dei Mapi is entirely frescoed by Francesco Salviati (1510–1563).

192 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2006

About the author

Born in Switzerland in 1936, Gregory grew up in a family where cultural stars like Arthur Rubinstein and Salvador Dalí were regular guests. He began collecting art as a teenager and went on to establish the well-known art publisher Vendome Press, while writing books on travel and history.